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TRP: Pride, Raef, and Sam (Damn Dream)
Morningstar Keep, Day 360. The sun was well on its way to setting fully, the air pleasantly cool and filled with the chirps and croaks of the night life. Owls hooting to one another in the distance signalled that it was time for the Keep's little flock of hens to be put safely away in their coop for the night. When Raef went outside to tend to them, there was a stranger sitting in the pen. He was a human, but looked to be about equivalent to Raef or Hansel's age -- somewhat weary from a similar lifestyle. He had a lyre and a quarterstaff strapped to his back and thick brown hair that was mostly loose around his shoulders, but had a couple braids twined through it. His clothes were durable and practical, but ragged, and the only adornment he had on him was what appeared to be a bright gold wedding band. A chicken nestled comfortably in his lap as he sat on the stump of a tree Hansel had cut down in landscaping the grounds, and he was gently petting it while the others stalked around him making quiet, content sounds. He seemed to be pretty serenely intent on what he was doing. MINK Dusk was settling, bringing with it the dangers of predators. Goro was off doing something and he liked taking the nighttime stroll to the pen that he closed up around the chickens' coop at night. Normally they were in it by now. This night they weren't. Instead they are milling around some stranger lounging in the pen. "Mind putting her down so she can go in?" Raef asked, eyeing the stranger. A hand hung loose near his belt. He didn't need the dagger anymore, but it was quick to get to whole he herded the rest of the flock into the coop. The stranger hadn't done anything except be a stranger and that was enough. IZZY The stranger looked up, sleepy-eyed. "Raef Chastain?" MINK "Depends on what you want." IZZY He scowled a little, and carefully shifted the chicken out of his lap to stand up to his full height -- about six foot. "I'm here about your choice of patron," he said flatly. MINK Raef watched the stranger stand up, not impressed; everyone was fuckin' tall. "There's a club formin' if you're interested," he answered in a similar tone. IZZY He squinted, not getting it. MINK Raef inhaled softly, torn between amusement and irritation. He didn't need another person butting in... especially someone he didn't know. "I'm not interested in your concerns. Now get out of my coop and go home." IZZY The stranger shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment and refocusing. "Listen. I'm going to be real blunt here. My name's Sam. I'm a warlock. My patron is going to kill your patron. He's offering you a chance to switch sides first, and he'll give you everything that Lust is giving you." MINK Raef arched an eyebrow. He wasn't expecting that, if he was expecting anything. "Sorry. I don't make deals with folks I haven't met." IZZY "You can meet him," Sam said. "Tonight. Dream." MINK Meeting another demon wasn't in his plans; Anwyll was more than enough for him and - he fought the urge to scratch at his chest - needy, but he wasn't fuckin' stupid. Demons could do damn well what they wanted. "Fine. Now get out of my coop." IZZY Sam narrowed his eyes, like he wasn't buying it, but shrugged a shoulder and turned to leave. MINK "What's the name of your patron?" Raef asked as the warlock - Sam - started to walk away. IZZY "He's got a lot of names," Sam said. "You might've heard of him as Pride." MINK Great. Just fuckin' great. "Guess I'll see him later." He turned then. Sonofabitch. IZZY - - - That night, Raef 'awoke' on a soft chaise lounge, covered in a silky blanket. The room around him was elegant, minimal, largely monochrome, and directly across from him was an identical lounge. Sam sat on it, his hair more kempt and freshly braided, looking rested and calm. Beside him sat Pride -- a tiefling-like demon, even taller than Sam, or Hansel, or Az, with wings folded on his back and golden eyes. Golden jewelry dotted him, sparkling on his horns, neck, wrists, fingers -- one ring conspicuously absent. He stroked Sam's hair and watched Raef with a cool, soft expression. MINK Raef pulled off the blanket, wincing a little as he sat up. It was a fancy room, different than Anwyll's home. It was kind of nice and fit the demon seated across from him...with Sam. He took Pride in for a moment before swinging his legs around until he was sitting, fighting down a shiver...a different shiver than what Anwyll caused. "Evening," he said as he leaned against the back of the lounge, eyes flickering between Pride and Sam. He didn't like this. IZZY "Indeed," Pride said. His voice was a pleasant, even baritone. "Sakincha has told you my name. If it makes you more comfortable, you may call me Aziz." MINK Anwyll wasn't wrong. Pride (Aziz) had a pleasant voice and he'd said very little so far. "Okay." He crossed an ankle over his knee. "What do you want?" Sam said that Aziz wanted to offer him to change sides, but there was something different about deals when said by the actual maker. IZZY "I want to kill my brother -- your patron -- Lust. Anwyll. I despise him," Pride said, quite mildly, "but I have no quarrel with you. I presume that whatever drove you to make a deal with him, it hasn't yet been satisfied. I will offer you whatever he offered. You need not even work for me." He trailed his smooth golden claws through Sam's hair. "As long as you aren't working for him." MINK "Why d'you 'despise' him?" He ignored the deal offer for now. IZZY "He's a revolting creature." Pride said it with no inflection, no sense of judgment. "Single-minded. Base. He has no respect for order and seeks only to sow chaos and discord, sate his petty desires, and proliferate his wretched spawn." He studied Raef. "It's unfortunate that you've come under his sway. I can hardly image the things he may have asked of you." MINK Raef managed to not squirm. He felt like he was being watched, studied, like some mildly curious insect. Studied by someone with pretty words and an even prettier voice. "Uh-huh. How makes you different?" IZZY "I have no interest in propagating our kind," Pride said. "Gluttony, whom you helped to kill -- you knew her as Diva -- she was Anwyll's first daughter of sorts. I understand that she causes quite some distress to you and yours." He said it mildly, almost curiously. "I myself killed the first Glutton, who was our sister. As well as Greed, Envy, and Sloth. They were all much like Lust. Chaotic. Destructive." He kept stroking Sam's hair. "I've no intention of causing the havoc and harm my siblings have attempted to inflict upon your world." MINK Raef's jaw tightened. That was the daughter Anwyll was proud of, the one that kept eating and eating...his stomach knotted uncomfortably. Distress wasn't the word he'd use. He didn't answer right away. Shit. "And you'd give me whatever Anwyll has offered, right?" IZZY "Indeed." MINK "Okay." It was something to say. His fingers tightened briefly on his thigh. He wanted to touch his chest, to the warmth coiled there...a comforting warmth. "Even if you don't know what he offered?" IZZY "He's a lesser creature," Pride said, dismissive. Sam cracked a small grin. "There's nothing he could offer that isn't within my power." MINK "How?" IZZY Pride's head tilted. "How what?" MINK "How is he a 'lesser creature' and how can I be certain that you aren't lying?" IZZY "Oh, I suppose you can't." He smiled gently. "Nor can you be sure that he isn't. Nor can you be sure that I'm telling the truth when I say that I killed our siblings, while he was too weak for such a task." Pride straightened from his relaxed posture, and Sam tensed slightly, beside him. "I assure you, Raef Chastain, that Sakincha and I are going to kill Lust. You can join me, or you can lose whatever power he's granted you when it happens." He smiled again, showing the very tips of sharp, pearlescent teeth. MINK Raef didn't move, quiet, thinking. He didn't care for the show or power or the threat; he'd been around a long fucking time. Almost too long. "Then about this deal...I want a few things. The first is that I want my family safe. All of them," he finally said. IZZY "Oh, certainly. Not to worry. Your friend Goro has already bargained for this." The smile quirked slightly, like he found this amusing. "I won't harm your family." MINK "Not just you. I need them safe from the gods." He squeezed his thigh. "I need one dead, gone. For good." And he wanted to be the fucker to kill him. IZZY "Not to worry," he said again. "You'll all be safe from the gods once I'm in your realm." MINK Raef quirked an eyebrow. "You want to come to our...realm?" IZZY "Yes. Lust is already on your plane, as was his Glutton, because they fled our home during what you know as the Calamity. I was preoccupied with the rest of our siblings, which allowed his escape." Pride's lip curled in disgust. "Before I was able to pursue, the Gate was closed. I want to finish the job I started." Then he settled back next to Sam, who edged close to him again, and relaxed, curling his arm around Sam to stroke his hair again. Sam closed his eyes in contentment. "And I want to be with Sakincha, who lives on your plane as well." MINK That was sweet, he supposed, but it wasn't helpful. "What do you need to get over here?" IZZY "An artifact. It's currently in the possession of the Church of Helm in Skyport." "We're talking to Goro about him helping me get it," Sam put in, murmuring. MINK If that wasn't some damn familiar shit, he didn't know what was. "What artifact?" IZZY The gentle smile returned. "You'll have to excuse my caution. I'm uninterested in sharing the nature of the artifact until I have your explicit assurance that you won't steal it, or destroy, perhaps on behalf of my brother." MINK Raef smiled a little at that. "When's your timeline for getting this shit done? I have a daughter who can't wait for you to take years." IZZY "We're in no particular rush." He tilted his head. "There are pieces still falling into alignment of their own accord. I presume you're concerned about Gruumsh?" MINK "Mmhmm." IZZY "I have many eyes." He twirled a lock of Sam's hair around one claw. "No prescience, you understand, but many eyes. "Something on the horizon may offer you a more immediate solution to this problem. We can talk again once it's come to pass, and if it doesn't turn out well -- then I will contact you again about the artifact. I won't allow this god to harm your daughter." MINK Raef tapped his fingers on his leg. Aziz added a little more, a little more than Anwyll had. If he could keep Tikva safe...if he could really help her..."You said... I wouldn't work for you. What would you do with my soul?" IZZY He waved his free hand absently. "I've no interest in doing anything with it." MINK Raef gave Aziz a lightly bored, irritated look. "You have to do something with it because I don't fuckin' want it." IZZY That gave Pride pause. He blinked. "Very well. I'd be happy to take it off your hands, then." MINK Raef arched an eyebrow again. "What would you do?" IZZY "I suppose I could keep it in a bottle, so to speak, on a shelf," he said, looking away for a moment in thought, then focusing back onto Raef. "It's a rather attractive color, after all." MINK He snorted soft laughter. "Yeah. Sure." He dropped his foot back to the floor. "Anything else to sweeten the deal?" IZZY "Is there anything else that you want for?" MINK "Yes." Raef glanced to Sam before back to Aziz. He had several things he wanted, none of which he ever wanted to share, but there was something he had fucked up on. Something he had more than fucked up. "I have another kid. I need him taken care of." He'd already asked Gavi. She said she'd try...maybe Aziz could be a little more sure...promise a little more. IZZY Pride tilted his head again. "Where is he?" MINK "He's dead." He doubted Aziz could do anything; keeping Tikva safe was different. She was alive. Gwydion was rotting in a hole in the back of Mishka's estate. IZZY He seemed to think for a moment. "Once I'm able, I will see to it that he's taken care of, then." A glimmer of a smile. "Would you like him in a bottle, as well?" MINK Raef laughed quietly before he could stop himself. "Just keep him out of Ba'al's hands. Give him to Gavi, if you can." A bottle. Gwydion would fuckin' hunt him down from the afterlife for suggesting a bottle. IZZY He inclined his head. "Of course." MINK Raef gave a thin smile. "I need to think. Give me a day." IZZY "As much time as you need. Would you like to wake up now? Or I can let you sleep until morning." MINK "Sleep." Fuck, he needed it before he had to think about Aziz and Anwyll. IZZY "Very well. It was nice to talk to you," he said pleasantly. "Sakincha will be around your castle soon. You can inform him of your decision." He snapped his fingers, and the next thing Raef knew, it was morning again. Category:Text Roleplay